Bitcoin Banking App Now On App Store; Twitter Co-Founder Backs Fintech Startup

Bitcoin (BTC) may now be a household name as investors outside of finance and tech have an idea about what it is or are curious about it, but they can't quite put the finger on how to board the crypto train just yet. Some of the processes available to exchange fiat to crypto and transfer bitcoin to a wallet are still confounding to some.

Fintech startup Mode looks to change that with its Bitcoin banking app. The Biz Stone-backed company developed a way to make owning the most popular crypto simple for anyone. The BTC banking app of the British company is available on iOS devices, and the process isn't that much different from downloading any other app on the App Store.

Opening an account with Mode takes roughly 60 seconds, and the KYC requirements are done within a minute or two. Users can also start with a minimum deposit of £50 ($65), which they can transfer using bank cards or through bank transfer. The funds will be under the care of a third-party custodian: Palo Alto, California-based BitGo.

"Our new app not only enable us to capture the huge growth in the Bitcoin marketplace, but also tackles many of the issues people have with the current platforms and storage services available, which our research shows are significant," said Arian Murphy, Mode's head of communications and marketing.

Murphy also said that Mode solves transaction restrictions, the notorious slow processing of transactions, high cost and lack of security. It also addresses the poor experience people have with BTC apps.

Apps like these further boost the adoption of BTC that some Bitcoin bulls like venture capitalist Tim Draper say will lead to a parabolic run. But despite being a catalyst for getting BTC in the mainstream financial ecosystem, this app is not available to its biggest market -- the U.S.

But pair Stone's Mode App to what his Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey is working on, and most of the common issues with using BTC are relieved. One thing Mode failed to touch on is the volatility of the primary crypto, which can be a headache for businesses that are ready to accept BTC as payment. Dorsey's recently won patent for a fiat-to-crypto payment network could be a way around it.